Work

Students’ Sense of Belonging at School in 41 Countries

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: This study examined whether students’ sense of belonging at school (SOBAS) differed across attributes of countries, families, schools, teachers, or students. Multilevel analyses of survey and test data from 193,073 15-year-old students in 41 countries yielded four main findings. First, students in more egalitarian cultures often had higher SOBAS than those in more hierarchical cultures. Second, the teacher–student relationship had the strongest link with SOBAS and mediated the link between egalitarianism and SOBAS. Third, collectivism was not significantly linked to SOBAS. Finally, family characteristics (immigrant status, language spoken at home, socio-economic status [SES], books at home, family wealth, and family communication), schoolmates’ characteristics (SES and social communication), teacher characteristics (teacher–student relationship, teacher support and disciplinary climate), and student characteristics (reading achievement, self-efficacy, and self-concept) were also linked to students’ SOBAS and accounted for most of its variance. This ecological model shows how attributes at multiple levels are related to SOBAS.

Source: Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology

DOI: 10.1177/0022022115617031

Authors: Ming Ming Chiu, Bonnie Wing-Yin Chow, Catherine McBride, Stefan Thomas Mol

Institutions: Purdue University West Lafayette, City University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Amsterdam

Language: English

Topic: Early Childhood Education and Development

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Spencer Foundation